Mobile Navigation

Chementator

Member Exclusive

PDVSA will commercialize a heavy-oil upgrading process

Venezuela’s state-run petroleum company, PDVSA Petroleo, S.A. (PDVSA, Caracas; www.pdvsa.com), will commercialize a company-developed process for upgrading heavy crude oil in its Puerto La Cruz refinery, about 300 km (190 miles) east of Caracas. The 210,000-bbl/d plant will employ PDVSA’s…

Member Exclusive

Demo plant for high-yield biomass-to-gasoline process under construction

Construction of a demonstration plant has begun for a biomass-to-gasoline process that boosts biomass conversion efficiency in producing bio-gasoline. The demonstration, to be located at the Hillsborough, N.J. headquarters of Primus Green Energy (www.primusge.com), is slated for completion in the…

Member Exclusive

This distillation column promises substantial energy reductions

A new distillation system capable of reducing energy consumption by up to 50% compared to conventional columns has been developed by Toyo Engineering Corp. (Toyo; Chiba, www.toyo-eng.co.jp), in collaboration with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST;…

Waste disposal system for military operations

The Micro Auto Gasification System (MAGS) is a compact solid-waste disposal system that is designed for energy-efficient operation onboard naval vessels, in forward-operating military bases and in other isolated installations. Developed by the Office of Naval Research (ONR; Arlington, Va.;…

Member Exclusive

First working FDI prototype

Last month at the Namur Annual General Meeting in Bad Neuenbahr, Germany, the first working prototype of FDI (field device integration) was demonstrated. FDI device packages were used to integrate Foundation Fieldbus, HART and Profibus field devices of various manufacturers…

Member Exclusive

A car company moves closer to making cellulosic ethanol ecomomically

Using gene recombination technology, Toyota Motor Corp. (TMC; Toyota City, Japan: www2.toyota.co.jp/en) has developed a new strain of yeast that achieves one of the highest ethanol-fermentation density levels in the world — approximately 47 g/L with 87% yield (based on…

Member Exclusive

Control the fuel-to-air ratio in combustion with varying fuels

In combustion, the ratio of fuel to air is key to efficiency, emissions control and stable performance of the combustion system. Adjusting this ratio to accommodate variability in fuels — due to the use of different fuels, and the variability…

Member Exclusive

Commercialization is set for a new alkylation process

An improved sulfuric-acid alkylation process that reduces acid consumption by up to 50% from that of conventional processes will make its commercial debut in China. Developed by Lummus Technology, a CB&I company (The Woodlands, Tex.; www.cbi.com), the technology will be…

Member Exclusive

Detecting steam-trap leaks gets easier

Steam traps are designed to allow condensate, but not steam, to escape from a steam line. When they malfunction, however, numerous costly consequences can result including energy losses, insufficient heating to processes, maintenance issues and more. At its Global Users…

Member Exclusive

Recover oil from messy spills with this mesh

A novel mesh for oil-water separation with opposite wettability to traditional materials has been developed by a group of researchers from Beijing, China — the Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (www.iccas.ac.cn); School…